After Briefing by U.S. Iran Negotiator: Israel Reserves Right to Act Independently

Israel reserves the right to assess the Iranian situation and make the necessary decisions independently, Intelligence Minister Yuval Steinitz said this week after five hours of talks with Wendy Sherman, Washington’s top Iran negotiator.

“Israel reiterated and made clear its position that an agreement with Iran must include dismantling its ability to progress toward a nuclear weapon,” Steinitz said.

Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu has told the Cabinet Sunday that he was concerned Iran believed it could “realize its plan to be a nuclear threshold state, with an enrichment capability that it thinks cannot be touched, and with the ability to develop both nuclear weapons and intercontinental missiles…. This combination of enrichment, weapons, and launch capabilities means that Iran is, in effect, receiving everything and giving almost nothing.”

Any long-term agreement must “dismantle the Iranian ability to either produce or launch nuclear weapons, and this has yet to be achieved, and without the insistence of the major powers, it will not be achieved,” Netanyahu said.

Meanwhile, Iran and its surrogates are ceaselessly attempting to destabilize and compromise Israel’s borders, with Iran directly involved in every conflict in the countries surrounding Israel, IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Benny Gantz said. Iran “is handing out torches to pyromaniacs…ammunition, rockets, and is heavily involving itself in the fighting.” “Each and every one of our fronts is in a tense state right now,” he said. “Quiet, I would say, yet tense, every day.”